THERE was welcome news for Patrickswell residents, who had feared the development of the long-awaited new N/M20 Cork to Limerick motorway would cause traffic chaos in their County Limerick town.
Limerick City and County Council is progressing the development of the N/M20 project with the draft design for the Patrickswell and Attyflynn Junctions amended to address major local concerns.
The road will now run parallel to Patrickwell, with a proposed local link road aimed at addressing locals’ previous traffic congestion concerns.
The design for the N/M20 was published in an update in June 2025. The project team, it was confirmed this week, subsequently reviewed and reconsidered the Attyflin Junction design to address concerns raised about local connectivity.
The previous design draft raised concerns that additional traffic would be pushed through the main street of Patrickswell village. Following a multidisciplinary assessment, the N/M20 project team recommended a new local link road, south of the existing M20, between Patrickswell Junction (M20 Junction 4) and Attyflin Junction (M20 Junction 5).
The proposed local link road will provide additional local connectivity to the future motorway network and address concerns raised during the public consultation process.
Fianna Fáil Minister and local TD Niall Collins welcomed the amended designs for the Patrickswell and Attyflynn junctions.
“Cllr Fergus Kilcoyne and myself formed a local action group. A petition was generated with hundreds of signatures and presented to the NM20 project design team. Meetings were held, the scheme was reviewed, and a number of solutions were considered,” Deputy Collins told the Limerick Post.
Fine Gael councillor and Patrickswell native Dan McSweeney commended the residents and community groups who worked tirelessly to their views known.
“This update will be very welcome news for many people living in Patrickswell, Crecora, and the surrounding areas. From the outset, residents raised serious and valid concerns about elements of the design around Junction 5, and it was important that those voices were heard and taken on board,” Cllr McSweeney commented.
Details of the proposed local link road and associated design amendments are included in the interactive mapping on corklimerick.ie.